


Don't Let Them

by TheTerrorDome



Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: Ableism, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Mentions of Joseph's canonical wife and daughter, Mentions of Kidman and Sebastian, Mobius, Ruvik is in Leslie's body, Set ambiguously some time before or during TEW2, mentions of torture, the administrator is just kind of an ass
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:34:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23704696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTerrorDome/pseuds/TheTerrorDome
Summary: Joseph had awoken from STEM in the underground prison of Mobius headquarters. He thought he was going to be forgotten amongst the concrete walls and heavy metal doors until a familiar voice from the cell next to him gives him hope of escape.
Relationships: Joseph Oda/Ruben "Ruvik" Victoriano
Comments: 11
Kudos: 35





	1. Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fandom thing I've written in a few months and my first crack at writing TEW. I don't know where I'm going with this but we'll see : >

The concrete underground of Mobius made it so every pin dropped reverberated throughout the underground, through every hall and every cell. Joseph heard the footsteps before they had even unlocked the heavy iron door of his hallway. Two guards. It sounded like they were dragging someone. Joseph figured it was only a matter of time before someone else had been condemned to Mobius’ cells. After the interrogation and experiments, he was quickly cast aside, lucky to even get food and water every few days.  
Joseph got off his flimsy cot, carefully approaching the cell door. Pressing his ear to the cold concrete, he listened.

  
“Think they’ll be wanting him back up there soon?” The guard sounded young, not anyone Joseph had heard through the halls before.

  
“Probably, little shit knows more about those machines than the scientists working on them.” The other was older and gruffer. His voice sounded much more familiar, someone who must have worked mostly on the lower floors.

  
“Man, I fucking hate coming down here. Takes forever to get back up.”

  
“Least it’s better than dealing with all those bodies. I don’t know who in their right mind would volunteer to be in something like that.”

  
Joseph’s ears pricked. Were they still trying to perfect STEM? Who would volunteer to be put in that nightmare?

  
The guards dragged the body up to the cell next to Joseph’s. Another heavy bolt and they dropped the body on the cot in the other room. The door slammed shut and locked.

  
“It’s damn cold down here.” The younger said.

  
“You complain too much.”

  
The footsteps went down the hall, through the door, and slowly faded out as the guards headed back up.

  
Joseph waited.

  
The person in the other cell groaned and the cot squeaked.

  
Joseph sat down. “Are you conscious?” He spoke softly. Couldn’t risk the guards somehow hearing and coming back. Not many had been down in the lower floors with him, but enough that he knew the consequences of speaking to one another.

  
The cot squeaked again.

  
“I can hear you. The walls,” Joseph said tapping the concrete, “are not very forgiving.”

  
He paused, giving the other time to collect himself. If they had dragged him he was most definitely roughed up; perhaps they had been interrogating him too? Or was some sort of volunteer who defied them?

  
“What… do you want?” The person sat up slowly, the cot whining as his weight shifted on the thin metal bars.

  
Joseph looked at the wall, uncertain of the voice he just heard. “Leslie?”

  
It couldn’t be. He hadn’t seen Leslie since STEM, since Kidman shot him. He’d assumed Leslie died.

  
There was a scoff.

  
“Leslie,” he said, “hasn’t been with me for a very long time.”

  
Joseph frowned, gripping the side of the cot.

  
“You seem to have gone quiet.”

  
Joseph got up. “You sound like him,” he said, “How is this even possible?”

  
Ruvik groaned. The cot creaked again. “I don’t want to waste my time to rest explaining the details of my research to some half wit detective.”

  
Joseph rested his shoulder on the wall. “You sound pretty roughed up. What are they having you do?”

  
“What do you think, detective? They're having me destroy my own research.”

  
“They don’t want STEM anymore?”

  
“It’s not STEM,” Ruvik said, “it’s some demented utopia, completely separate from my vision.”

  
“Then why are you working on it?”

  
The cot shifted and Ruvik took heavy steps toward the wall adjacent to Joseph’s cell. Joseph could hear his heavy breaths. With how skinny Leslie was when he’d seen him in STEM, it wouldn’t surprise Joseph if Ruvik had a cracked rib.

  
“You think I have any inkling of a choice? You really were nothing more than a glorified police officer, weren’t you?”

  
Joseph ground his teeth. The wall between them felt colder. Looking up, the bulb lighting his cell flickered weakly. “Did Sebastian make it out?” he asked.

  
Ruvik snorted. “What do you think? Though I don’t think he’ll be away from Mobius for long.”

  
Joseph knew he couldn’t trust Ruvik. He was a psychopath. But if he didn’t want to be stuck with Mobius anymore than Joseph did, they shared a common goal.

  
“What do you know? What’s Mobius planning?” Joseph didn’t know how far he could get talking to Ruvik, he’d never been good at negotiating. At least he could try to pull something out of him. He had been above for a while, he had to know something.

  
There was a long pause. Ruvik laughed, it sounded more like a giggle coming from Leslie’s mouth, but Joseph could feel the bitterness leaking through.

  
“Why would I tell you, detective? You are just as much my enemy as they are.”

  
“I doubt that.” Joseph glanced at his cell door. Lowering his voice, he added, “You want to get out don’t you? You can’t do that alone? Especially given your new circumstances.” He remembered how small Leslie was. How bruised up and gap toothed and spinely. It was almost comical to imagine Ruvik in such a state, given how prideful he still seemed to be.

  
“You would be wise not to underestimate me,” Ruvik said.

  
Joseph smirked. “Really now? I highly doubt you could do anything without your magic powers and barely hundred pound tiny body.” He had newfound confidence over his situation, at least he wasn’t stuck in another person’s body. At least he was still himself.

  
Before Ruvik could reply, the door to the hallway opened, scraping against the concrete floor. Joseph let out a harsh shush and stepped away from the wall.

  
Only one set of footsteps this time. They stopped in front of Ruvik’s cell, the door banging against the wall. Joseph’s skin crawled. He recognized this guard.

  
“You’re up? Good, let’s go.”

  
Joseph had only seen him a few times on the lower floors. He banged open doors, stomped around in heavy boots, did everything he could to let anyone near know that he was a massive tool.

  
“I was just brought here.”

  
“Well, now you’re leaving.” The guard’s heavy boots pounded on the floor. He lifted Ruvik up with ease, throwing him over his shoulder. Ruvik gasped.

  
Joseph stayed in the middle of his cell, his jaw fixed and his eyes on the floor. They wouldn’t bring Ruvik to the lower floors to try to get information, would they? They already knew all that Joseph knew. What would make them think Joseph could get anything out of Ruvik or vice versa if that was even their plan? He listened as the guard carried Ruvik out of the cell and down the hall, Ruvik wheezing. He had no way of knowing if they’d bring him back. They had to have been keeping him somewhere else before. Joseph could only hope they’d bring Ruvik back. He was probably Joseph’s best chance at escape, they were stronger in numbers and the more time went by, the more Joseph worried Mobius planned to forget him underground.


	2. Do you stand with Mobius?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is from Ruvik's perspective so he is referred to as Ruben because I can't see him calling himself Ruvik. However, in chapters from other characters' perspectives he is referred to as Ruvik.

With each step, the guard’s shoulder jabbed into Ruben’s side right in his ribs. Keeping his breathing steady was difficult, as was keeping an air of calm about himself. Letting these people know of any weakness would be a grave mistake and he would not allow them to perceive any flaws, whether his or his host’s. However, he couldn’t help the wheezing breaths clawing their way through his throat each time his ribs bounced off the guard’s shoulder.

  
They went through yet another large door. Ruben tried to gain some leverage as the guard started up a long set of stairs, pushing himself up so his upper half wasn’t dangling over the guard’s shoulder.

  
“Quit it,” the guard said, jerking Ruben’s legs back in his arms.

  
Ruben fell forward, collapsing back over the shoulder and coughing.

  
It felt like an eternity before he was finally dropped in front of the Administrator. The guard practically throwing him to the floor in front of the large oak desk.

  
“You can leave us.” The Administrator flipped through a file, seemingly unbothered by Ruben’s presence.

  
Slowly, Ruben stood up clutching his side. He leaned on one of the brown leather chairs in front of the desk, forcing himself to breathe shallowly.

  
“Sit.” Still not looking up, the Administrator snapped the folder shut.

  
Ruben scowled, sitting in the chair he was leaning against. His feet barely touched the floor, he stared at them. The body was hard to get used to, including the size, but the nervousness was crawling under his skin and gnawing at every thought and movement. Though what mattered was if the Administrator noticed the gnawing Ruben excruciatingly kept just under the surface.

  
“Are you making progress on building the system?” The Administrator looked at him for the first time, his gaze fixed. Ruben looked at him through his eyelashes, noting the slightest twitch of a smile as the Administrator leaned back.

  
“You seem on edge. Do you feel in control, Ruvik?”

  
Gripping onto the arms of the chair, Ruben said, “I’m fine.”

  
The Administrator glanced at the folder on his desk. He opened it up, flipping a few pages. “Your work since you’ve come out of STEM has been lacking your usual prowess. Could this new arrangement be too much for you to handle?” He picked up one of the sheets of paper and turned it towards Ruben. “There’ve been reports of you having… episodes while working with the other scientists on Union. Care to explain?”

  
Ruben leaned forward in his chair, keeping a neutral face. The paper contained a series of memos from the fools working on STEM, somehow they all deluded themselves into thinking his work could be some sort of community, a suburban utopia completely removed from the original construct of memories and singular use and regulation. Several of them had reported Ruben acting “unusual,” apparently, but what even constituted normal in such a place. He pulled his lips back into a sneer. “I don’t see how this affects my work. I’m having to pick up the slack from the imbeciles you think can manage my research.”

  
The Administrator took the paper. “I don’t like it when you keep information from me, especially information that could impede our progress.” Setting the paper aside, he picked up another, placing it before Ruben. “I am certain you are aware of your current predicament, otherwise,” The Administrator said giving a narrow look, “I may have overestimated your usefulness.”

  
Ruben scoffed, barely giving the sheet in front of him a glance. “What do the boy’s medical records have to do with me or my research? He was a compatible consciousness transplant. There’s nothing left of him anymore.”

  
The Administrator gestures to the paper. “Consciousness, yes, but the brain chemistry would remain the same. Or so says our research. Have you noticed anything different about yourself?”

  
The leather chair groaned when Ruben sat back. He raised his chin. “No. In fact, I have not.”

  
“I’m sure,” the Administrator said, “My researchers, however, seem to think otherwise.”

  
“And what makes you think they know my mental faculties better than myself?”

  
They stared at each other. Ruben couldn’t help but feel insecurity creep up his spine, recalling the few glances in the mirror since he’d left STEM. Surely, his current stature wasn’t intimidating, but he believed his confidence could make up for it. He took in a breath and shoved the paper back at the Administrator.

  
“If you want to leave those idiots to work on Union alone, be my guest. Though my lack of presence will show in their work.”

  
The Administrator stuck the paper into the folder, shutting it away in his desk. He clasped his hands in front of him and tilted his head. “You’re to continue your work,” he said, “for now.”

  
Standing up, the Administrator went to a large filing cabinet. Stacks of folding slid out and he tapped through a few before pulling out a thin Manila envelope. He held it out to Ruben.

  
“Leslie Withers is still considered missing by the state, however, we took precautions before bringing you back from STEM. If you were to ever leave and be found again, Dr. Jimenez placed Leslie under a conservatorship which when he died was relinquished to our facility. You would be brought back without question.”

  
Ruben took the envelope.

  
“You can keep that one, we have the original paperwork.”

  
The Administrator opened his office door, ushering the guard back inside. “You understand the implications of a conservatorship, I would hope, Ruvik?”

  
Ruben shoved the envelope into his pocket.

  
“It would be wise to keep your place in Mobius at the forefront of your mind. You are not essential to Union, only convenient.”

  
The Administrator went back to his desk, taking a seat he waved a hand at the guard.

  
“You can take him now. He doesn’t have any more work for the day.”

  
Before Ruben could respond, the guard grabbed him by the back of his shirt hauling him up. He was pushed out the door and back down the long winding staircase to the underground, the envelope burning a hole in his pocket. Their steps echoed down the empty concrete halls of the facility.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan to do more research on conservatorships so that way I'm not just talking out of my ass. I'm trying to update with at least a thousand words as well so it's worth reading and I'm still trying to figure out exactly where I want this to go. For now, five chapters is just a rough estimate but it could be more. Let me know what your thoughts are so far.


	3. Will You Be Able To Live With Yourself?

Joseph’s ears pricked at the distant sound of footsteps. Had it been that long? He couldn’t tell anymore, there was no way to discern night from day or noon from morning, even the overhead lights stayed flickering throughout his time in the underground. 

He stood up, going over to the heavy concrete door. 

As the heavy door opened at the end of the hall, Ruvik’s wheezes traveled down to Joseph’s cell. The heavy footsteps were quick. Joseph pressed his back to the wall adjacent to the door. 

“Quit whining.” 

With a thunk, the lock fell on Joseph’s door, swinging open, slick metal nearly hitting him in the face as the guard took a step inside. From behind the door, Joseph watched as Ruvik was dumped on the ground just inside the cell. The door slammed shut just as quickly as it opened. For a moment, Ruvik stayed on the floor coughing, digging his fingernails into the palms of his hands. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wrinkled envelope. 

Joseph stayed still, uncertain of what to do. The seconds seemed to be inching by. It was difficult to see Leslie, Leslie’s body, in such a different way. His shoulders were hunched forward and his jaw clenched, every part of him tense. Leslie was nervous. He could be tense, that was undeniable, but this was different. More hostile. 

Clearing his throat shattered the silence between them and Ruvik jumped, skittering forward the envelope crushed in his fist. He turned to face Joseph, his eyes wild and lips downturned in a sharp frown. 

“Seems like the guards are even more incompetent than I thought,” Joseph said forcing something of a smile. He might as well make the best of the situation, possibly his only chance of escape. 

Ruvik hastily shoved the envelope back in his pocket, brushing his bangs moist with sweat away from his forehead. “Once again another gross miscalculation on your part, detective.”

Joseph paused for a moment, the guard’s footsteps having disappeared up the long staircase to the surface, he breathed a sigh of relief. Again, he was uncertain if he could really trust Ruvik. He had no way of knowing if this was all an elaborate scheme concocted to squeeze any possible information he had kept from the Mobius agents. Ruvik could be a Mobius agent himself, and Joseph would be none the wiser. He leaned back against the wall. Ruvik was not much to size up and it gave Joseph confidence that he knew he could at least overpower him. 

They stared at each other. 

“What do we do now?” Joseph asked. 

Ruvik glanced down at the floor, the tips of his ears a dark shade of red. He stood up. His clothes were the same muted gray, but not the Beacon hospital uniform Joseph had met Leslie in. Ruvik dusted off his knees. He lifted his chin up. “We?” Ruvik turned away from Joseph and faced the door, folding his arms over his chest, “We won’t be doing anything.”

“You plan to wait here for someone to come carry you out?” Joseph asked.

Ruvik scoffed. 

Both of them standing in the cell made Joseph realize just how cramped it was. He stepped away from the door taking in the four walls closing them in, trying to ignore Ruvik’s heavy breaths. 

After a moment, Ruvik took the envelope back out of his pocket. The envelope crinkled in Ruvik’s hands and Joseph watched sitting on the cot. Craning his neck, Joseph said, “What’s that?”

“None of your business,” Ruvik said, keeping his back to Joseph. 

Joseph said, “We have a better chance at escape if we help each other, you know.”

Ruvik took some papers out of the envelope. He flipped through them and snorted. “There is no escape, imbecile,” he said sifting through the papers. 

Joseph stood up and in a step swept the papers from Ruvik’s fingers. 

“Hey,” Ruvik snapped, “Give that back!”

Joseph held the papers in the air and read them over while Ruvik yanked at his arms. Joseph kept the papers up, Ruvik’s strength barely pulling at his arms. “What is all this? That doctor was Leslie’s legal guardian? Why do you have this?” Joseph flipped through the papers before Ruvik jumped up snatching them away. The binder clip holding them together fell to the floor. Ruvik was across the room in a second, back pressed against the wall as he glared at Joseph, the papers crumpled in his fists. 

“It is none of your business,” Ruvik said through clenched teeth. 

Joseph tilted his head. He took a breath in, letting out a soft “oh” of realization. “You’re Leslie… not really, but no one would believe a deranged killer took over the consciousness of a mental patient, so,” Joseph said pointing his index finger, “you’re Leslie.” He picked up the binder clip off the floor and fiddled with it. “ Dr. Jimenez is dead though, isn’t he? What does that mean for you?”

Silence settled between them. Joseph clicked the binder clip open and closed. 

“Those papers say that administrator guy would take over Leslie’s guardianship,” Joseph said, “What does all of this mean for you?”

Ruvik folded the papers in half, smoothing out the creases. “I would sooner hook myself back into my system before I would even consider sharing my circumstances with you.”

Joseph threw his hands up. 

“I am getting out of here, whether you come with or not.”

“Then why haven’t you? It’s been nearly a year, detective, yet you’re still stuck here. No one’s coming for you or going to help you and you are going to die in here. Probably in this cell. Will anyone remember you? Is anyone even looking for you?”

Ruvik flicked his gaze up and down Joseph. “How much do you think they paid your wife to keep quiet and move on? What do you think she told your daughter?”

Joseph snapped the clip in half. He crossed the cell and threw Ruvik into the metal frame of the cot. Grabbing Ruvik by the collar, Joseph asked, “What do you know about my family?” 

Ruvik’s face was scrunched up in pain but he grabbed Joseph’s wrists digging his nails into the flesh. 

“What do you know?” Joseph snapped, shoving Ruvik against the metal frame.

Ruvik smirked, the expression seeming so foreign on Leslie’s soft features. “ I know probably a fracture of what Mobius knows, though it would be wise to be more worried about what they know, detective. Instead of worrying yourself with me.”

“Yeah,” Joseph sneered, “you’re pretty pathetic.” 

Ruvik shoved Joseph away. 

“You don’t have any life outside of Mobius either, detective.” 

Joseph shook his head. He rubbed the broken binder clip between his fingers and sized up the cell door. “You may think you have no life outside of this hell, but I do.” He took one of the pieces of the binder clip and jammed it into the keyhole, twisting it until the lock turned with a resounding thunk and the door creaked open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the artbook it confirms that Joseph has a wife and daughter (I think it may have mentioned she was a toddler as well?) but also that he had a crush on Kidman, apparently, which I will be actively ignoring. Kid deserves better than these dumdums. Lemme know what you think.


	4. Have You Ever Felt Abandoned By The Ones You've Trusted?

The door opened with a low moan, the harsh light from the hallway flooding into the cell. Joseph pushed it open all the way. Turning to Ruben with a lopsided, cocky smile, he said, “I’m getting the hell out of here. Are you coming?” 

Ruben, still on the floor, scowled back. “We have no real chance, detective. Don’t you realize that?” 

Joseph poked his head out into the hallway. 

“Your family isn’t out there looking for you, Oda,” Ruben continued, “Your wife probably already buried an empty coffin and told your daughter ‘Daddy’s never coming home’ and they’ve both moved on in life.” 

Joseph didn’t acknowledge Ruben. He stepped out into the hall craning his neck. “How long do you think before somebody comes down?” Joseph asked. 

Ruben stood at the threshold of the cell. He couldn’t believe how naive Joseph was being. The most incompetent detectives could deduct that a single way up to what could possibly be a parking garage or exit if even that nearly guaranteed running into someone. 

Joseph pushed the door open with the tips of his fingers and stepped into the hallway, looking down both ends. He turned to Ruben with a shrug and said, “I’m leaving. You can stay and wait for someone to come throw you around or you can come with.”

Ruben took a small step back. He wasn’t going to be so naive, the likelihood of getting caught seemed so high as opposed to playing dumb to Joseph’s escape and evading punishment. Joseph rocked from foot to foot for a moment. He sized Ruben up. “So?”

With a small shake of his head, Ruben walked back into the cell, his back to Joseph. 

Joseph let out something of a hiss and Ruben heard him walk towards the staircase. His steps already seemed to be fading away. 

The cell seemed colder. Ruben grinded his teeth. He slid the sole of his shoe against the concrete, a deep set frown on his face. He went out the door taking quick steps to catch up to Joseph. Joseph looked down at him with a poorly suppressed smirk. “I am merely humoring you,” Ruben said, “The second anything goes awry, I’m immediately surrendering and telling them you kidnapped me.” 

Joseph snorted out of his nose. 

The steps up to the surface were narrow. Ruben would be tempted to count them if it wasn’t such an obvious waste of time. Every little sound made both of them jump, the smallest misstep or door opening from above resonated through the whole stairwell. 

“Don’t suppose you know where to go once we get up to the main floors,” Joseph said. 

Ruben mulled the question around for a moment. “I assume they take me different ways for the exact purpose of disturbing any sense of direction I have,” he said, “Although mental maps have not been the easiest of feats as of late.”

Joseph nodded. 

Ruben kept his hand above the rail as they walked up the steps, deciding it was best not to elaborate on any perceived weaknesses. 

“Why’s that? You essentially made an entire world for yourself in STEM.”

“It’s different,” Ruben said. 

He tried to quicken his pace. Joseph kept beside him. For whatever reason, Joseph seemed to think Ruben could be helpful. Ruben was an obvious flight risk, he probably stood out just as much as he used to in his current body. 

They came upon the entrance to the main floor. 

“What should we do? They don’t have any floor layouts anywhere.” Joseph said. 

“How would I know?”

Joseph glanced through the small window to the floor, craning his neck. “You’ve actually been up here. Don’t you know anything? Literally where anything is?

Ruben pulled him back from the door, grabbing at the fabric of his shirt. 

“You’re going to get us caught,” he snapped, “Even if I did know anything, why would I tell you?’

Pausing for a moment, Joseph looked down at him staring intensely into his eyes as if he was trying to find something. “You came with, didn’t you?” Suddenly, Joseph was in front of Ruben. He squeezed Ruben’s shoulders tightly and shook him, still staring. “Leslie?” He moved closer. Ruben could feel his breath on his face and angled his head away, but Joseph persisted. “Leslie! Are you there?” Joseph took Ruben’s chin and turned his head, again he said, “Leslie?”

Ruben shoved him away. As Joseph stumbled back into the handrail, Ruben sneered and smoothed out his sleeves. 

“In case you haven’t noticed,” Ruben said, “he hasn’t existed out here in a long time.”

“But you admit he’s in there.” Joseph pulled himself up.

“No. I haven’t had any indication of a second consciousness and if there was, Mobius would’ve taken advantage by now.” 

“I don’t believe you.”

Joseph glared at Ruben. 

“It doesn’t matter to me,” Ruben said with a dismissive sneer, “You’re the delusional one trying to escape.”

“I’m taking you with to help Leslie. Not you.”   
“You barely even saw him in STEM. Why does it matter if I come with or not?”

Joseph narrowed his eyes at him. He brushed past Ruben, opening the door to the main hall. “It doesn’t,” he said, disappearing into the upper floors of Mobius.

Ruben stayed in the stairwell. He was tempted to go back down to the cells and feign ignorance of Joseph’s escape. There wasn’t even much of a point to escape. If Joseph naively took him to the police they’d only bring Ruben back without so much as a second thought. Staying meant complacency. If Ruben didn’t go with he was still certain there were cameras that caught them trying to leave. 

Ruben went through the door, hastily looking around for Joseph. With no sign of him, he took his best guess and started down the hall. Did he dare try calling out for Joseph? Chewing on the inside of his cheek, he turned down the hall taking quick steps. They echoed down the empty hallway. 

With slight hesitance, Ruben called down the hall, “Joseph?”

No response. 

He itched his palms, practically running down the hall in search of Joseph. Turning down the hall, he was yanked into a room, the door slammed shut behind him and a hand smacked over his mouth. Ruben threw himself back propelling all his body weight on the person holding him. Lifting him up by his middle, the person jerked him away from the door. 

“Shh!” 

Ruben tore away, pressing himself into a wall. 

“Are you trying to get yourself caught,” Joseph hissed glancing out into the hallway.

Grasping his chest, Ruben slid down to the floor. “Why did you do that?” 

“What? Stop you from running through the halls like a maniac? There’s a group of people down the hall, didn’t you hear?” 

Ruben huffed. He grazed the palms of his hands against the cool wall. 

“I was too busy trying to find you after you abandoned me.” 

Joseph was still peering out the small window in the door. He opened his mouth to say something but instead ducked down. 

“Whatever. Let’s just focus on getting out of here alive,” he said. 

They waited, holding their breath. Outside, the hallway was silent. Joseph pressed his ear to the door. Grabbing for the doorknob, Joseph turned his back to Ruben. “Let’s go.”

The halls of Mobius went on for miles, twisting and turning over and over again. Ruben had no clue if Joseph at all knew where they were going. He turned down halls and went through doors with the confidence of a man who knew what he was doing. Though Ruben doubted Joseph was acting on anything more than “detective’s intuition.” They rounded a corner and Joseph tiptoed over to a bulletin board. 

“A map,” he hissed over his shoulder. 

Ruben came up next to him. The map was small, the halls close together and almost indiscernible from each other. “Where do we go?”

Joseph stared intently.

“It seems,” he said, “we should find another stairwell and go down a flight. The parking garage’ll be on that floor.”

Ruben tilted his head. “You’re sure?”

“Do you have a better idea?”

Joseph started down the hall again and Ruben followed after him. Pushing through a door, they entered a new stairwell and Joseph quickly went down the steps. 

“Is something wrong?” Ruben asked.

Joseph ignored him, getting to the next floor and going through the first door he saw. As they entered the parking garage, stuffy humid air hit them in the face. Joseph let out a large breath. 

“Now we have to find a car.”

Ruben let out a laugh. “A car?” he said, “Do you think someone just left their keys in the ignition?” 

Joseph glared at him and went down one of the lanes, glancing over the different vehicles. 

“You can’t just steal a car. Why don’t we take the stairs to the entrance?”

Joseph stopped in front of a silver Camry and looked under it. “They’re going to have security, genius. If I drive out with you hiding in the backseat, they probably won’t even leave the booth.” 

Ruben crossed his arms and hurried over to the car, looking over his shoulder at the door. “What about the person who owns the car? It’s attached to Mobius.”

“We’ll ditch it for another one.”

“So we’re stealing two cars now?”

Joseph stood up and ran a hand through his hair with a huff. “Just let me figure this out, okay? We can’t just walk out the front door. We need a cover.” 

“Do you even know how to steal a car?” 

Joseph went around to the driver’s side door and smirked. “I can at least get into this one,” he said, pulling the door open. 

Ruben watched him slide into the seat. He shoved the chair back, messing with the ignition. “Why would a Mobius agent just leave their car unlocked in a giant parking garage? This feels like a trap,” Ruben said.

“Again, do you have a better idea? This place has such high security, people probably just leave their keys in the car.” 

Ruben looked back towards the stairwell door again. 

The car started up, the lights flashing. Joseph let out a shout of excitement, leaning back in the chair with relief. “Are you coming?” he asked. 

Ruben went to the passenger seat and opened the door but Joseph yanked it back. 

“No, you’re hiding in the back, remember?” 

“Why do I have to hide?”

Joseph scoffed. “Get in the back,” he snapped, closing the passenger door. 

Ruben glared at the tinted window, but relented and opened the door to the backseat. 

“Lie down on the floor or something,” Joseph said, “Hurry up, I want to get out of here.” 

Ruben climbed into the car, sitting down in the crevice between seats and picked at a loose bit of skin near his nail. Joseph buckled himself in and turned around in his seat, backing out of the spot. “Keep your head down. Once we’re out of here we’re ditching the car and we’ll figure out something else.” 

Ruben grunted. It wasn’t like he had a say in their escape at all. What did it matter what he knew of Mobius when Joseph the detective already had it all figured out? He shrunk down against Joseph’s seat. The rows of cars passed by in the window across from him and Ruben held his breath. There was no way it would work. They’d recognize Joseph. Or see him. Or know the car was being stolen. Wouldn’t there be cameras? “Almost there,” Joseph muttered. 

The car slowed and Ruben dug his nails into his arms. Joseph rolled the driver’s window down and out of the corner of Ruben’s eye he saw Joseph give a small wave. The car sped up slightly and went over a speed bump. Joseph rolled up the window and sighed. “We’re clear,” he said. 

“Now what?” Ruben said, he didn’t know why but he was nearly whispering. 

Joseph turned on the blinker. 

“I told you. We drive for a bit, then we ditch the car.”

The car continued to pick up speed. Ruben looked out the window for the first time since the parking garage. The window had droplets of water obscuring the view, and suddenly he was aware of the sound of window wipers in the front of the car. There were large trees outside, green but yellowing at the edges. He could barely see them as the car sped on. Ruben got up onto the seat, pressing his side to the door. He rolled down the window, sticking his head out into the air wisping past them.

“What’re you doing?” Joseph said, “Get back in, we’re getting on the freeway.” 

Big droplets hit Ruben’s face. It stung. The wind threw his hair around, making it twist around on his scalp. The water trickled down his face and neck. The wind was cool against his skin, but it was a humid rain, the concrete shined against the lights of the cars whizzing past. Ruben closed his eyes, resting his head on his arm and let out a long breath. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Camry's are the easiest cars to break into, apparently. Let me know what you think.


	5. You Will Bring Us Back That Boy

Joseph slammed the trunk of the Camry closed, tossing a bag of supplies over his shoulder. The rain had stopped once they got out of the city, the pavement was still slick and the small puddles absorbed into the thin shoes he had from the Mobius facility.

Across the parking lot, Ruvik sat on a bench rolling a stick back and forth with the heel of his foot. 

Joseph had no clue where to go from there. There was some money with the supplies he found in the trunk, but it would only get them so far. How far did they even need to go before he could feel they were safe? 

Walking up to Ruvik, Joseph glanced around at the other people meandering around the bus loop. 

“I found some stuff that could be useful. I think it’s probably best to take the bus as far as it’ll go and then we can figure it out from there.”

Ruvik didn’t look up. Fixated on cracks in the ground, he continued to roll the stick under his heel. “Don’t you think that’s convenient, detective?” he said, “An unlocked easily hotwired car with a neatly packed bag of all the things we need to escape Mobius?”

Joseph scoffed. “Even if it is convenient, it gave us a starting chance.”

“And if it had a tracker and they’re on their way here right now?”

A bus pulled up around the loop and people gathered under the awning slowly filed inside. Joseph watched for a moment, pulling out the wad of cash from his pocket. “We’re going to already be far away if they are trying to catch up-”

“Then what?” Ruvik asked, still rolling the stick back and forth. 

With a scoff, Joseph walked away and went into the station. At the front desk, he bought two tickets for a town four hours away. For just a moment he considered leaving Ruvik behind. He had the money. He had the supplies. If he wanted to he could buy himself a ticket, get on the bus, and leave Ruvik behind to be recaptured by Mobius. It would make his chances so much better. Mobius had all but forgotten about him. If they had any plans for him, they hadn’t acted on them in a long, long time. 

Joseph took the tickets, going back outside he stopped at the corner of the building. The stick Ruvik was rolling grinded against the ground on the other side of the wall. Joseph weighed the two tickets in his hand.

“Our bus is in fifteen minutes.”

Sitting beside Ruvik, he tried not to let the small grunt of acknowledgment get under his skin. Even when Ruvik angled his body away from Joseph.

Joseph adjusted himself on the bench, slightly shoving Ruvik over and they waited for the bus.

They got off at the last stop and Joseph managed to hail a taxi. From there they ended up outside a small motel with half of the neon sign broken apart and buzzing.

Ruvik let out a condescending snort. “Do you even have any money left to pay for this shithole?” he asked.

Joseph flipped through the wad of bills. “Yes, at least enough for a night or two here.”

As he headed inside, Ruvik right on his heels, he heard Ruvik mutter, “In a night or two we’ll be back with Mobius.”

Their motel room was small. Ruvik immediately plopped down on the bed, kicking his shoes off and letting them drop to the floor. Joseph set the key card down on the dresser. Taking in the cramped room, he grabbed the small coffee pot up from the counter and filled it with water from the bathroom. He heard Ruvik call from the room, “Isn’t it late for that?” 

Joseph came back out, pouring the water in the back and shoving the pot into the machine. “Doesn’t matter. I probably won’t sleep.” The pot made a low hum as the water brewed. 

The bed could probably fit the two of them. Ruvik had already torn the comforter down and messed up the sheets, shoving a pillow under his head as he glared across the room at Joseph. 

“You’re so worried about Mobius catching up to us, I’ll stay up and keep watch.”

Ruvik rolled his eyes. “And what are you going to do, detective? You aren’t exactly a force to be reckoned with.” 

The coffee spurted into the pot. 

Outside, cars whizzed past the parking lot, the lights beaming into their window and illuminating Ruvik’s face. Leslie’s face. Joseph couldn’t shake the uncertainty that pooled in his stomach whenever he saw Leslie’s features. He had to still be there. He couldn’t have just disappeared. 

Ruvik scrunched his face up into a sneer. “What are you staring at?”

Joseph took one of the mugs off the dresser and poured himself a cup of coffee. “What happened in STEM? I don’t know anything past Kidman shooting me but you’re here now instead of that kid and I’d like to know how exactly you managed to make that happen.” 

There was a long silence. Joseph sipped at his coffee and Ruvik continued to glare. The chair Joseph sat in was lumpy and uncomfortable. Ruvik splayed out on the bed with all of the blankets crumpled on the floor, his arms over his chest. 

“Why should I tell you?” Ruvik snipped. 

“If we’re going to be stuck together for a while-“

“Until Mobius catches us.”

“Until Mobius catches us… I want to trust you, but last I knew, you were a ghost in the STEM system with no way out and now you’re in the body of a mental hospital patient.” 

“Do you think I value your trust?” Ruvik asked with a slight tilt of his head.

“I could just leave you while you sleep if you think Mobius is guaranteed to catch up with us.”

Ruvik let out a sharp huff. 

“Fine… though I suppose I should give some context to my situation.” Ruvik sat up, his glare fading into an expression that was more sullen than angry. “The first thing I remember from waking up outside of STEM was an egregious headache that had settled in the front of my head.”

“In my previous body, I had somewhat limited mobility that wasn’t as much of a concern within my STEM system. I was able to complete my research and other work, but I still had my limitations. I rejected skin grafting surgery after my accident as a child; it’s not something I necessarily regret, though my current existence has made me more aware of it.”

“What’s your point?” Joseph asked, “I want to know how you took over Leslie’s body, not a manifesto of your life.” 

Ruvik settled back into a pointed glare. “I could just withhold all of this from you, is that what you want? Even if you did leave, I’ve still been with you this whole time and could just tell them where I think you’re going.”

Joseph scoffed and stared down into his empty coffee cup. 

“As I was saying,” Ruvik continued, “my previous body had many physical limitations that I realized within my STEM system. In this current body, those problems are mostly gone aside from obvious obstacles of size or weight or being easily overpowered.

“I realized that I needed a body that I could reasonably exist in and blend into surroundings. I was too obvious of a target in my previous body. I probably should have realized that evading Mobius or having any semblance of control was foolish. I should have taken my research and disappeared long before completing the first terminal. Through trial and error, I discovered I couldn’t just pick any random person and leave through them, there needed to be certain compatibility. This current body, Leslie Withers, and I shared the mental compatibility I needed to escape the STEM system. 

“I wanted to continue my research. I suppose I was naive in presuming I’d be able to escape, especially seeing the ill state the body was in when I woke up. Leslie Withers and I were similar, but I hadn’t accounted for the fact that Jimenez and as an extension, Mobius, were keeping him within close reach, heavily sedated. 

“When I woke up, the first thing I remember is that headache. It felt like I was having my skull cracked open all over again. My vision was completely blurry and before I could get my wits about me there was a sharp pain at the base of my neck. A Mobius agent had pulled the cord out of the back of my neck that was connecting the body to STEM. It wasn’t a sensation I had ever felt before but the body was familiar with it, which only contributed to my disorientation. I could feel my body being pulled out of the tub, my clothes were heavy and wet, but it didn’t feel like it was happening to me so much as it was happening around me. 

“I assume I was dragged to some sort of van and driven to Mobius headquarters. The back of the van was dark, but I was able to piece myself together a little bit. Despite the headache, I could still tell there was something very… wrong about myself. I was different, my hypothesis had proven correct and I had escaped my system with my consciousness fully intact. I believed that all I had left to do was escape and continue my research in a secure location. My memories were all intact, I still knew I was myself, the only difference was the vessel from which my consciousness was stored.

“I did not account, however, that Leslie had been heavily monitored by Mobius for quite some time. Mobius owned Beacon, but I had falsely assumed they had only used the facility as a cover without any regard to the patients they were using for their experiments. They had detailed profiles of all of them, even the ones I had killed for STEM.

“In regards to Leslie, though, Jimenez had made an error in diagnosis. I couldn’t tell you if it was purposeful or not if he had simply overlooked symptoms or held the observations of his brother a little too highly, but Jimenez claimed that Leslie was catatonic due to the sudden trauma of his parent’s deaths.”

Joseph squinted at Ruvik, setting his cup back on the dresser. “What did Jimenez get wrong? Leslie didn’t seem to be very present from what I saw of him in STEM.”

Ruvik sucked in a long breath and seemed to consider the question for a moment before continuing, “You see, the medical professionals who cared for and diagnosed Leslie were only present after the trauma, and since he was just beginning to grow into an age where children are expected to speak and play and such, there hadn’t been prior documentation of any supposed problems. From what I know about Jimenez’s treatment plans for Leslie, and what Mobius has slipped, he was being over medicated for a problem that wasn’t there. The trauma existed, yes, but that didn’t contribute to his echolalia or supposed selected muteness or dissociation. Mobius has given me countless pills in the time I’ve been with them, anti anxieties, antidepressants, others that I’m not certain of, but I think Mobius and Jimenez supplied those to keep Leslie, and I suppose myself, too disoriented to fight back. 

“I began to consider the possibility that Leslie was simply neurodivergent and medically neglected, rather than mentally ill, because when I considered how our brain waves matched there were holes in my prior theory. I thought that Leslie and I’s shared trauma of familial death is what made us compatible, but I would have been able to leave STEM through Sebastian as well if that were the case. Also, there was no trigger of said traumatic memory that matched our brainwaves, it would just occur, and I thought Leslie had possibly even blocked out the memories of his parents’ deaths. It seemed to happen haphazardly. I couldn’t place how Leslie was a match for a new host if it wasn’t for trauma. 

“When I reconsidered Leslie’s original files, I wondered if it was brain functioning that made us compatible. The echolalia I had noticed in Leslie, was also something I was prone to, it was something I may have even suppressed about myself. I couldn’t say this with absolute certainty, it’s just a theory I have and what I’ve accepted as the reasoning behind my new body. It didn’t explain the headache, though, or pose any leverage in an escape plan. 

“When the van reached the Mobius facility, two men opened the doors to the back. I had crouched under the long metal seat and one of them managed to grab my leg and pull me out. The straitjacket was already tied, so I couldn’t fight back very effectively aside from kicking them. They put a bag over my head and I was carried into the facility. I was brought to the Administrator, who I’m sure you’ve met. My initial reaction was to play dumb and act like I was unsuccessful in my attempts to escape Mobius and they only had Leslie with them. They had anticipated this, though. 

“After an unknown amount of time in a padded cell, I was brought back to the administrator. He asked me if I was ready to discuss my future. All the while I still had the headache from when I woke up. I was to continue my research and help Mobius perfect STEM to their vision. I at first refused. STEM was my invention and I didn’t want to contribute to its bastardization. I’m sure you know by now, that the administrator is a very persuasive man. I don’t remember all that happened before I began working on Mobius’s pet project, but I still have some of the superficial evidence left over from Mobius agents and their many torture tools. 

“I was surprised to find out that my usefulness in regards to STEM did have an impending expiration date. Not long after I built the framework for their new development, nothing more than a putrid housing project if you ask me, I was taken back to one of the seclusion cells. I couldn’t fathom what I had done wrong. The trials of the system worked perfectly, even with the imbeciles I constantly had to baby meddling with my machine. 

“Mobius agents began to watch me through a slot in the door. I didn’t know what they were trying to accomplish at the time, they’d just stand there and stare. They were waiting for something, I had come to realize. Finally, the administrator came down to the lower floors where I was being held. He seemed disappointed to see me. I still couldn’t figure out what it was they wanted until they began their experiments. They started playing loud pitched frequencies over the speakers of my cell and keeping the lights on. I assumed they were trying to break me, and I braved it for a long time while the headache continued to grow and fester throughout the entirety of my cranium. 

“I didn’t realize it at the time, but Mobius was trying to gain an upper hand over me. Throughout all of the tests they subjected me to, they discovered the migraine I couldn’t shake had potential. Eventually, I did crack and the sensory overload became too much. I blacked out and came to days later with the administrator sitting in the room. 

“I continued to have blackouts under similar circumstances, whenever Mobius had some agenda I was unaware of. It wasn’t until I worked out how to fake the dissociative state and agents came in to collect me that they let it slip. The headaches I have are a manifestation of Leslie’s consciousness and Mobius had figured out how to gain access to Leslie, switching us back and forth between consciousness at will.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to update. Let me know what you think :> I was always dissatisfied with the reasoning for Leslie and Ruvik's connection in STEM especially considering Ruvik read out a long list of symptoms about Leslie that seemed unrelated to trauma and Sebastian also having trauma that's more closely related to Ruvik's but not being considered "compatible." Also, if you listen to Ruvik, he says the same thing over and over again like the whole "mine to do with as I please" I think Ruvik and Leslie are more interesting foils than Ruvik and Sebastian.


	6. Run All You Want.

Ruben watched Joseph’s expressions carefully. He knew he couldn’t exactly anticipate Joseph’s reactions, but he figured if he could stay ahead of any conflict he could maintain some self preservation. 

Joseph seemed neutral for a moment. Mulling over the information, he nodded and leaned back in the overstuffed motel chair. 

“So… Leslie’s still in there?” 

The question hung in the air.    
“Were you not listening to me? Of course, there’s something left of Leslie’s consciousness, it wouldn’t just disappear. I had intended for his consciousness to take my place in the STEM system but it seems that didn’t work out as it should’ve.”

Getting up to pour himself another cup of coffee, Joseph turned his back to Ruben. There was a new tenseness between them that Ruben had anticipated, he wasn’t entirely confident how quickly it would fade, however. 

“Can you tell..? When he’s around?” Joseph asked, back still to Ruben. He shoved the pitcher back into the holder and took a long sip. 

The audacity he had to question Ruben after he had laid out the situation to him in near entirety. “No,” Ruben drawled out, “I cannot.” 

With a scoff, Joseph plopped back down in the overstuffed chair. The contents of the mug sloshed around haphazardly. “Well, of course. That would make things easy for me.” 

Outside, a car alarm went off and they both jumped. Joseph was across the room, the mug left on the dresser as he peered through the slated curtains. Ruben stayed frozen on the bed. He knew Mobius was coming for them but wasn’t as naive as Joseph to believe there'd be some sort of warning before they were taken back. Joseph pulled back with a quick huff and ran his fingers through his hair. 

He said, “Just some tourists, I’m guessing.”

“Obviously,” Ruben muttered, picking at loose skin against his nail, “Do you have any semblance of a plan? We’re not going to survive long just sitting here.” 

“I’m not seeing you offering any solutions. Aren’t you some self proclaimed genius? Why don’t you figure it out?” 

Sunlight came in through the cracks in the blinds and Ruben stared ahead at the wall to keep the beams out of his eyes. 

“You can’t, can you? You went through all this trouble of getting a new body and you can’t do anything but mope about how we’re going to be found.” Joseph flung his bag over his shoulder, knocking the door to their motel into the wall as he stormed out. “I don’t know why I even brought you along.” As the door shut behind Joseph, a gust of hot air rushed through and Ruben shuddered. 

The sun slowly disappeared down the window sill as night came over the edges of the city. Joseph had yet to return. If Ruben didn’t know any better, he would have thought Joseph abandoned him. 

The coffee had long since gone cold and Ruben dumped the contents down the bathroom sink and the filter and grounds in the small plastic trash bin. He left the lights off, presuming it was better for Joseph to return thinking he had been the one to leave than to alert anyone to his singular presence. Their discussion had gone about as well as he anticipated. Ruben hadn’t even expected Joseph to believe there was any semblance of Leslie’s conscious left floating around between his ears. His antagonizing behavior led Ruben to conclude he would see his observations as thinly veiled falsities to secure safety outside of Mobius facilities or in some way manipulate Joseph into falling for some horrifying trap that could only exist within the confines of the STEM system.

The motel room was claustrophobic, with the overstuffed chair shoved up against the clunky dresser. There was barely a foot of space between the bed and the dresser. Ruben stuck his foot out and pushed one of the drawers shut and leaned back onto the uneven mattress. 

Outside, another car alarm went off. Ruben sat up quickly, staring at the covered window. Should he check? Last time it was nothing. Though last time he had Joseph with him, and Joseph wasn’t back yet. 

Slowly, Ruben slid off the bed, kneeling on the floor. Crawling across the ugly patterned floor he came up to the window and grasped the window sill. Careful not to get noticed, Ruben parted the curtains down the middle, peering outside from just above the sill. The parking lot was nearly empty, save for a few cars towards the end of the lot. The one going flashed its hazards with each wail and Ruben squinted his eyes. Who could be so obnoxious as to let their car go off in the middle of the night? 

The car they came in was nowhere to be seen. 

It wasn’t exactly surprising, but it deepened the pit swirling in Ruben’s gut. 

Another light flashed in Ruben’s eyes and he shielded his face with the palm of his hand. Next to the screeching car was a clean white car and their rearview mirror had reflected directly in Ruben’s face. He ducked down behind the sill, peering up ever so slightly to still see the car. It wasn’t turned on, but it seemed that someone was inside. Why would someone be sitting in a car outside a motel in the middle of the night? Ruben rubbed his knuckles together. 

Could they be Mobius agents? Why hadn’t they come to get him? He was all alone. Did they know he was alone? 

A large man opened the driver’s side door and stepped out. His black suit and slicked back hair made Ruben feel queasy. Slamming the door, the man turned towards the building, facing the motel room. Ruben ducked down, swearing. Had he noticed him? The curtains were ever so slightly parted and he slowly, slowly peeked out. The man was walking straight for the building. Directly towards their room. 

Ruben got back down, pressing his head to the wall under the window. It was just a coincidence, it had to be. He stayed still, straining to hear what was going on outside. The alarm must have gotten shut off while he was watching the man, the building felt eerily silent. 

He crawled across the floor, scraping his knuckles against the scratchy fabric. The bed was his first attempt at a hiding spot, but the underside was covered by thick wooden boards along the length of the bed. 

“Ah, fuck,” he swore and got up on his knees. 

A shadow moved across the curtains, the man outside walking right up to their door. 

In a second, Ruben was across the room, throwing open the closet door and disappearing inside. He curled up against the wall, scooting back away from the door as much as possible. 

Knocking at the door reverberated throughout the room, making the walls vibrate. Ruben gasped, covering his mouth with his hands. The knocking continued. Getting louder if that was possible. Everything would be okay, Ruben found himself thinking. 

Joseph would be getting back at any moment. But wouldn’t he run once he realized they were cornered?

His legs were pressed up to his chest, hands still over his mouth. 

More knocking. 

How had someone not noticed yet? If there was anyone even around them. 

The doorknob to the front door jiggled loudly. Whoever was outside kicked the door. 

Ruben closed his eyes, rubbing his thumbs in circles over his eyelids. Joseph had to be coming soon. Joseph would be able to help. He pressed his chin into his sternum and repressed a groan. Joseph wouldn’t leave him there. 

The knocking picked up again, consistent and angry.

He had to tell himself that. Although he wasn’t sure if he believed it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it keeps taking me so long to update, though I don't think anyone is particularly following this except the friends I've forced it on. I'm almost done with the next chapter so expect that before the end of October. I also think I've decided on an ending.


	7. Can You Discern Between Evil and Good?

The roads were empty, save for Joseph’s stolen car going down the highway. He glanced down at the radio. The time pressed against his eyes in glowing green font. He should go back. Ruvik was a pain in the ass, but they needed to figure things out together. He didn’t want to be alone and even if Ruvik was an evil little shit, he was still someone. 

Joseph turned into the exit lane and headed back towards the motel. The local roads were equally empty. Still, he stopped at the lights, went the limit; taking his time going back. He wanted Ruvik to sweat a little bit. After torturing him and his partner in some magic machine, it’s what he deserved. 

Turning into the parking lot, Joseph pulled into a spot. The car turned off. He looked through the rearview mirror towards their room and his heart dropped into his stomach. 

Someone was standing outside their room, banging on the door. 

Joseph gripped the steering wheel, sliding down in the seat and spying through the driver’s side mirror. 

A hotel desk worker came up to the man hesitantly, holding a clipboard in one hand. Joseph rolled down the window, leaning up against the door. The cool night air quickly seeped into the car. 

“Sir..” The desk clerk worker stayed a few feet away and cleared his throat before speaking again, this time in a clearer voice. “Sir. Is this your room?”

The man seemed to falter at this. He adjusted his suit. 

“Yes,” he said with a pause, “I thought someone else was inside.”

“The man who rented out this room was alone.”

Another pause. They both stared at each other for a moment before the clerk cleared his throat again and peered down at his clipboard. “So… what was your name again, sir?”

Joseph held onto the wheel, his knuckles a pale white as he watched on. 

“Oda,” the man said, “Joseph Oda.”

The clerk tsked and looked down the clipboard. “I’m sorry, sir, but that isn’t who rented out this room.”

The man tensed, his hand moved to his back pocket. Joseph slid down further in his seat.    
“I can rent you another room, but this one is already taken. Otherwise,” the clerk looked up from his clipboard and said, “I’m going to have to ask you to leave the premises.”

Unbuckling his seatbelt, Joseph shifted his chair back so he wasn’t noticeable to any passer-byers. Was Ruvik still even inside? Had he ratted Joseph out and ran? 

The man nodded, turning on his heel and walking back into the parking lot. Joseph held his breath as he came up to a car a few spots away and opened the driver’s side door. Before Joseph could even check what he was doing, the man peeled out of the parking lot, a dust trail puffing up as the car disappeared out of the lot and screeched down the road. A quick glance out the rearview mirror and the clerk was still standing by the room, completely dumbfounded. With a shake of his head, he looked back down at his clipboard and walked back towards the office.

The lot grew quiet. Joseph sat back in the seat, his breathing shallow. He hadn’t realized how fast his heart was beating or how sticky his palms had become. He peeled his hands off the wheel and got out of the car, slamming the door shut. He hadn’t wasted too much gas. They could still get pretty far until he’d need to stop for more. 

Walking across the lot, Joseph tried to walk with confidence, but he struggled to fight off the urge to look over his shoulder. What if the man hadn’t really left? He was obviously a Mobius agent if he knew Joseph’s name. Should they even wait until tomorrow to leave? 

Once at the door, Joseph quickly slid the keycard through the locking mechanism and pushed through the door, closing it behind him and putting the latch lock in the hole. 

“Ruvik?”

The room was cleaner than when he’d left. Leaning over the dresser, Joseph saw the coffee grounds had been tossed out. He looked around the room, a frown settling over his face. 

“Ruvik..?”

He peeked into the bathroom, moving the shower curtain back to see the sickly yellow stained porcelain tub. But no Ruvik. 

Had he really left?

From the closet, he heard a muffled rustling and a strangled sound, like a wounded animal. Joseph knocked on the closet door and pressed his ear to the thin wood. “Is that you?” he asked, “Are you okay?”

There was no response. A few more muted noises. He turned the handle and carefully pulled open the door. 

Ruvik was pushed into the corner farthest from the door, curled into himself like a small child. His hair was in his face, chin tucked down between his knees as he shook with soft cries. 

Joseph pushed the door open the rest of the way and kneeled down, leaning forward. 

“Leslie..?” he whispered in disbelief. 

The smaller man jolted forward, shoving Joseph out of the doorway. As he fell on his back, the door banged against Joseph’s legs. When Joseph looked back up, moving his legs out of the way of the door, he was curled back into himself in the closet hugging his knees. 

“No,” he croaked, “that would make things easy for you.”

Ruvik sneered at Joseph. It looked wrong on Leslie’s face, screwed up in anger, red in the cheeks and puffy eyes. Tears streaked down his face. “Wouldn’t it?” Ruvik spat. 

It was a sight Joseph wouldn’t have believed if he hadn’t seen it for himself. Given the power Ruvik held in STEM, it was nearly laughable to see him so vulnerable. Crying in a closet like a frightened child. 

“What are you even doing?’ Joseph asked. 

Ruvik sucked in a short breath wiping a hand over his face. 

“Did you just so happen to miss the goon outside trying to break in? Or had you not yet returned from your temper tantrum?”

They sat in silence for a moment. Ruvik picked at a loose hem on his sleeve. Tempted to pry more, Joseph opened his mouth but paused before any sound actually came out. 

“I wouldn’t have cared if you left,” Ruvik muttered. 

The air conditioning kicked on and Ruvik jumped, his eyes darting around the room until they fell on Joseph.

“I don’t need you,” he whispered. 

Joseph gave a small nod. “Of course.”

Ruvik rubbed his knuckles, his eyes sliding down to the floor. “I don’t need anyone.”

Pulling out the small wad of cash, Joseph flicked through it. “I have a plan,” he said, ‘It’s not airtight, but it’s the best I’ve got right now.” He scooted closer to Ruvik and held out the cash. “You can hold it, if you want.”

The air in the closet was uncomfortably hot. Ruvik glared up at Joseph, and then down at the money. He pulled his lips back into a sneer. “You aren’t subtle, detective,” Ruvik snapped, “I am not  _ him.  _ I am not a child.” He smacked Joseph’s hand away. “Is that it? You think if you talk softly and make yourself seem smaller, Leslie is just going to come back for you to save?”

When Ruvik stood up, he dusted himself off and stepped over Joseph. 

“What’s this mediocre plan? It’s probably useless, anyway, I don’t know why I’m asking.” 

Taking the unused cup off of the dresser, Ruvik went to the sink. The water running was abrupt. Joseph got up slowly. “We’re going to Canada-”

“You think Mobius is confined by borders?” Ruvik interrupted. 

Running his hand through his hair, Joseph went over to one of the beds and sat down with a sigh. Negotiating with Ruvik seemed impossible. There wasn’t anything he could say that would sway Ruvik into even cooperating. “You can stay here if you want,” Joseph muttered, “but I’m going to Canada.” 

“What is there in Canada?” Ruvik said from the bathroom, “Mobius is everywhere. We’re sitting ducks no matter where we are.” 

“I’m familiar with parts of Canada, I know places we can hide out for a while.” 

“I don’t like the cold.”

Ruvik came out of the bathroom, his face screwed up in a deep scowl. On Leslie’s face, it was almost cute, but Joseph knew it was just a mask. The man behind that face wasn’t Leslie and Joseph knew that the longer it took for Leslie to appear, the less likely it was that he ever would. 

“It’s not so bad,” Joseph said, “We’re leaving first thing in the morning, sunrise.” 

“I haven’t agreed to it.”

Joseph shrugged. “I don’t need your permission.” 

Joseph took off his shoes, lying back on the bed. The air conditioner kicked on, the buzzing of the vents made Ruvik jump. None of it felt real. The motel room. Ruvik. Their escape. He didn’t want to consider the possibility of the entire scenario being an elaborate trial run of some new system. Or if their escape had already been planned by Mobius. “Get in bed,” Joseph said, flicking off the bedside lamp. Maybe reality would set in the morning. Or maybe it’d come crashing down. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added more chapters, I figured they should probably actually tolerate each other before the end of the story and that would take longer than the ten chapters I had set up. I do have a plan, I have an idea for how I'd like things to end, but we shall see how things go. Let me know if you have any thoughts.


	8. Do your past secrets haunt you?

Birds chirping outside of their window woke Ruben up. He didn’t know birds sat outside of motels to sing, it seemed too out of place. , but he could tell sunrise would be soon.

“I was just about to wake you.” 

Joseph was stuffing his Mobius clothing into the backpack, the thin slippers shoved into the waste bin by the dresser. Ruben frowned. “You went out?”

Joseph grabbed a plastic bag from off the floor and tossed it next to Ruben. “Yeah, get changed. We need to get out of here soon, I don’t want to risk running into any Mobius agents.”

Ruben couldn’t help the twinge of annoyance as Joseph continued moving around the room. He wasn’t a child. Who did Joseph think he was? Frown still fixed on his face, he pawed through the bag. 

“I couldn’t get much since we need enough gas to cross the border.”

“How will we do that exactly? Neither of us has passports.”

Joseph reached into his back pocket and pulled out two small booklets. “I still have some connections from my detective days,” he said. 

Ruben threw the blanket off of him. There was no way he accomplished all of that in the few hours Ruben was asleep. It would be impossible. “What are you keeping from me?” he snapped, grabbing the passports from Joseph’s hands. 

“What is this?” Ruben snapped. The names were entirely unfamiliar, nothing Mobius would get notified about at border crossing. The pictures were of them, well, Joseph and Leslie, though the chipped tooth, white hair, and bruises on Leslie’s intake photo to Beacon were edited. “I don’t even have brown hair. How did you get these?” 

“We need to dye it before we leave,” Joseph said, “Just trust me. We’re meeting someone once we get past the border, alright? We won’t make it far on our own and as I said, I have connections.”

“Can they be trusted? It could all be a trap, you dolt!”

Joseph scoffed. “I don’t have time for this. Get dressed, we need to dye your hair and leave.” He slung the backpack over his shoulder and left out the door towards the car. 

Did Joseph not realize the risks of trusting anyone but each other? No one else was to be trusted. No one else could help them. Ruben worked his jaw, pulling the clothing out of the bag.

Joseph came back in after a few minutes, letting out a sigh through his nose when he saw Ruben in normal clothes. “Ready to dye your hair?”

“Why did you get me pajama pants of all things?” Ruben muttered messing with the cuff of the grey flannel he just pulled on. 

“They’re not pajama pants, more like sweat pants or something. I couldn't spend too much money and jeans are expensive.”

Ruben rolled his eyes. “Are you sure this isn’t to fuel your superiority complex over me?”

Joseph ignored him, going to the bathroom. 

“Come here,” he ordered. 

Ruben clenched his fists, squeezing his thumbs. Joseph thought he could order him around like a dog. Just because he made the mistake of trusting someone once does not mean he’d make the same mistake again. Jimenez was a wake up call to how wretched the world truly was and Ruben would not soon forget. Regardless, blending in was crucial to survival. He followed Joseph to the bathroom and immediately scrunched up his face at a repulsive smell permeating from a bottle Joseph was vigorously shaking. 

“It’s supposed to smell like this,” Joseph said, meeting Ruben’s gaze in the mirror. 

Ruben hung back in the doorway, turning his face back towards the small room. “It’s horrid.” 

Joseph pulled on a pair of flimsy plastic gloves and patted the seat cover of the toilet. “You’ll live.”

The next few minutes were the most agonizing, crawling moments Ruben had experienced in a long while. The smell forced itself through his nostrils and curled up in his sinuses, stewing at the very back of his throat. Joseph lathered Ruben’s head with the sludge, jerking his head back into place whenever he tried to shift away. Finally, setting down the bottle, Joseph took off the wrinkly gloves and said, “There. Just let it sit for like thirty minutes.”

Ruben turned to look at him. “Thirty minutes?” he asked incredulously.

“Don’t be so overdramatic, it’s hair dye,” Joseph said. His back was turned, but Ruben sneered at Joseph’s small smirk in the mirror. 

Washing out the dye was even worse. Joseph stood barefoot in the tub, looming over Ruben. He could’ve drowned Ruben if he wanted to. The plastic gloves were back on and they caught in Ruben’s mucky hair as Joseph haphazardly tried to flush the dye out. 

“Stop squirming so much,” Joseph said.

Ruben sputtered, his hand over his mouth and nose as the faucet rained down over him. The water eventually ran clear. Though Joseph held him down before he could stand. “I’m supposed to put this in,” he said.

Before Ruben could ask, a slick lump fell onto the back of his head. He jerked up, but Joseph grabbed the back of his neck and held him still.    
“It’s conditioner!” Joseph said, “calm down.”

Once it was over, Joseph buried Ruben’s head in a towel that smelled of mothballs and dried off his hair as much as he could. “That wasn’t so bad. You just like to complain.” Joseph pulled the towel off and Ruben met his reflection in the mirror. It was disconcerting to see Leslie with such dark hair. He thought it would make him look less pale, yet now he noticed the eye bags so much more, and the hollow cheeks. 

“We should head out now,” Joseph said, hanging the damp towel over the curtain rod. 

Ruben stared at his reflection. Would he ever grow accustomed to his new face? Would there come a day when he sees himself and doesn’t think of Leslie? 

“I already got gas so we don’t need to stop unless you want to get food.”

Ruben brushed the wet hair out of his face. “Do I look like myself?” he asked.

Joseph paused in the doorway. He looked Ruben up and down in confusion. “What are you talking about? You aren’t really yourself,” Joseph said dismissively, “Besides, didn’t you have light hair too?”

Ruben frowned. “That’s not what I mean,” he said. 

After a long pause, Joseph cleared his throat. 

“We can talk about it in the car, but right now we need to leave,” Joseph said, his voice gentler than before. He held a hand out to Ruben. “Let’s go.”

Ruben glared up at him. He thought of how he trusted Jimenez with his research. How he trusted Mobius with STEM. He knew Joseph was keeping things from him. There was no proof that Joseph would be any different. Ruben pulled his lips back into a sneer, staring down Joseph’s hand. “Why should I?” 

Joseph let out a short sigh. With a shrug, he replied, “Why not? What’ve you got to lose?”

Ruben looked him up and down again. Slowly, he took Joseph’s hand. His palms were warm. 

“Don’t think this means anything,” Ruben snapped.

Joseph chuckled. “Of course not.”

In the car Ruben sat angled away from Joseph, chewing on a fingernail. The radio was tuned to a station with songs Ruben didn’t recognize. Joseph turned the music down, eyes still on the road. 

“Why did you ask if you look like yourself?” 

Ruben shifted towards the window. He ran a hand over his bangs, staring at his reflection in the side mirror. “No reason,” he muttered. The brown hair lightened as it dried, but he still wasn’t used to it. 

Joseph glanced at him. “There’s a reason.” 

Ruben sighed, leaning back in the seat, still eyeing the mirror. 

“You wouldn’t understand,” he responded, “Weren’t you a detective? Can’t you guess or whatever?”

Joseph’s laugh caught him off guard. It was soft but unrestrained. “I thought I was a shitty detective?”

The familiar tone Joseph was getting accustomed to around Ruben was off-putting. He knew what Joseph saw when he looked at him. He knew Joseph saw all he did outside and in STEM. Was he just acting comfortable as a survival tactic? Ruben sank lower in his seat, eyeing every car that passed them. 

“My personal problems don’t concern you.”

“We’re kind of stuck together for the foreseeable future, so I’d say I’m not out of place asking.”

Ruben huffed. 

“Whatever’s bothering you, it concerns me too. I need you here. Who knows what we could run into and I don’t want you up in the clouds,” Joseph said.

With the music lowered, Ruben could hear the hum of the car engine. The ground vibrated underneath them. Anything could be a possible trap, something out of place that he had to account for; his head was exactly where it needed to be, regardless of what Joseph thought. 

“I say you would not understand because you literally wouldn’t,” Ruben said, drawing out his words, “You are not in someone else’s body. You weren’t partially immobile and in pain every day. You don’t forget that you’re shorter now or that if you touch something unpleasant your brain will act on its own. I’m now stuck in a body that’s barely a replacement for my previous one and a mind that I can’t fully control whether Leslie’s there or not.” Ruben clicked his tongue. “So excuse me if I feel you won’t be especially sympathetic to my situation.” 

After a moment with no reply, Ruben glanced at Joseph out of the corner of his eye.

Even from the side, Joseph couldn’t hide the small smile touching his lips. 

“See?” Ruben said, “You find my troubles amusing. You think it’s funny.”

“I don’t think it’s funny, you just get worked up easily. Besides, sympathy isn’t about experiencing someone’s situation, I can still feel bad.”

Ruben rolled his eyes. “Then feel bad for me. Right now all you’re doing is mocking me.”

Joseph snickered. The road before them narrowed as they drove farther from town, the sun going down as they drove. 

“I can see why you’re so upset all the time at least,” he said, “I doubt Mobius really gave you much of a chance to get your bearings.”

They sat in silence for a long moment. Ruben stared at the dashboard as Joseph drove.

“I don’t remember a lot that happened at first when I got out of Mobius,” Ruben said. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Ruben saw Joseph glance back at him like he was expecting him to continue. He sucked in a breath. “I don’t think I was meant to remember.” 

Ruben stayed curled up against the car door. He hadn’t considered talking to Joseph about his problems or even telling him anything that had happened during their time as captives. There was no point, though. Joseph couldn’t understand, even if he could supposedly sympathize. Would he really care? What if he judged Ruben? 

“Your eyes get really wide when you’re overthinking,” Joseph said, interjecting between Ruben’s thoughts. “Maybe if you said more than just vague statements about what’s wrong…”

Ruben let out a short puff of air. 

“You were there. You know how things were,” he said shortly.

“They mostly ignored me. We hadn’t even seen each other and we were there for at least a year or two.”

Ruben nodded slowly. “Well… they didn’t really ignore me.”

“I figured.”

A lapse of silence fell over them. 

“If they didn’t ignore you, then what happened?” Joseph asked, a tinge of annoyance in his voice.

Ruben mulled it over, trying not to seem uncomfortable as he moved slightly closer to the door. “If you don’t want me to talk about it, I don’t want to pester you with it.”

“I asked, Ruvik.”

The worry ebbing in Ruben’s chest inched upwards into his throat. 

“I suppose,” Ruben said, elongating his words as he turned his head away from Joseph, “I suppose I could tell you what I remember.”

After a moment with no reply, Ruben glanced over his shoulder and Joseph gave a quick look back. “I’m listening.”

“The first thing I remember is waking up in Beacon. I opened my eyes and the fluorescent lights immediately burned into my skull. It had been so long since I had existed in a real body, I had forgotten to breathe. I saw Kidman once I sat up, but I hadn’t noticed the Mobius agents until they were upon me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slowly but surely, I am updating this fic. I've decided I'm gonna actually prewrite stuff before posting it from now on because I feel so bad having big absences. Though, I'm still planning to update as I go with this one. I have thought of an ending I think, so that's good. Also, as a warning, the next chapter will be expository so it takes place in the past. I don't like writing in italics because reading it gives me headaches, so I'm just going to warn you now and then at the beginning of the next chapter. Thank you for reading and let me know your thoughts! :>


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